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in Scotland .]] Civil engineering is a ).1 Civil engineering is the oldest Engineering discipline after Military Engineering , and it was defined to distinguish it from military engineering.2 It is traditionally broken into several sub-disciplines including Environmental Engineering , Geotechnical Engineering , Structural Engineering , Transportation Engineering , Water Resources Engineering , Materials Engineering , Coastal Engineering ,3 Surveying , Urban Planning , and Construction Engineering . HISTORY Engineering has been an aspect of life since the beginnings of human existence. Civil engineering might be considered properly commencing between 4000 and 2000 BC in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia when humans started to abandon a Nomad ic existence, thus causing a need for the construction of Shelter . During this time, Transport ation became increasingly important leading to the development of the Wheel and Sailing . The construction of Pyramid s in Egypt (circa 2700-2500 BC) might be considered the first instances of large structure constructions. Other ancient historic civil engineering constructions include the Parthenon by Iktinos in Ancient Greece (447-438 BC), the Appian Way by Roman Engineers (c. 312 BC), and the Great Wall Of China by General Meng T'ien under orders from Ch'in Emperor Shih Huang Ti (c. 220 BC). In ancient times, engineers were typically referred to as Architect s or master builders. In the 18th century, the term civil engineering was first used to recognize it as a separate field from military engineering. The first self-proclaimed civil engineer was John Smeaton who constructed the Eddystone Lighthouse . EDUCATION AND LICENSURE headquarters in London ]] Civil engineers typically possess an Academic Degree with a major in civil engineering. The length of study for such a degree is usually four or five years and the completed degree is usually designated as a Bachelor Of Science , though some universities designate the degree as a Bachelor Of Engineering . The degree generally includes units covering Physics , Mathematics , Project Management and specific topics in civil engineering. Initially such topics cover most, if not all, of the sub-disciplines of civil engineering. Students then choose to specialize in one or more sub-disciplines towards the end of the degree.Various undergraduate degree requirements at MIT Cal Poly [http://ceenve.calpoly.edu/media/files/cecurriculum0709.pdf , Queen's and Portsmouth [http://www.port.ac.uk/courses/coursetypes/undergraduate/BEngHonsCivilEngineering/whatwillistudy/ About one-third of civil engineers also choose to pursue a postgraduate degree such as a Master Of Engineering , Master Of Science , or a Doctor Of Philosophy in Engineering. The Master of Engineering degree may consist of either Research , Coursework or a mixture of the two. The Doctor of Philosophy consists of a significant research component and is often viewed as the entry point to Academia .4 In the United Kingdom and various other European countries, the Master of Engineering is often considered an undergraduate degree of slightly longer duration than the Bachelor of Engineering. In most countries, a Bachelor's degree in engineering represents the first step towards Professional Certification and the degree program itself is certified by a Professional Body . After completing a certified degree program the engineer must satisfy a range of requirements (including work experience and exam requirements) before being certified. Once certified, the engineer is designated the title of Professional Engineer (in the United States, Canada and South Africa ), Chartered Engineer (in India , the United Kingdom , Ireland and Zimbabwe ), Chartered Professional Engineer (in Australia and New Zealand ), or European Engineer (in much of the European Union ). There are international engineering agreements which are designed to allow engineers to practice across international borders. In general, these agreements require both educational competencies and professional experiential competencies. The advantages of certification vary depending upon location. For example, in the United States and Canada "only a licensed engineer may prepare, sign and seal, and submit engineering plans and drawings to a public authority for approval, or seal engineering work for public and private clients.".5 This requirement is enforced by state and provincial legislation such as Quebec's Engineers Act.6 In other countries, such as Australia, no such legislation exists. Practically all certifying bodies maintain a Code Of Ethics that they expect all members to abide by or risk expulsion.7 In this way, these organizations play an important role in maintaining ethical standards for the profession. Even in jurisdictions where certification has little or no legal bearing on work, engineers are subject to Contract Law . In cases where an engineer's work fails he or she may be subject to the Tort Of Negligence and, in extreme cases, the charge of Criminal Negligence . An engineer's work must also comply with numerous other rules and regulations such as Building Codes and legislation pertaining to Environmental Law . CAREERS In the United States, there is no one typical career path for civil engineers. Most engineering graduates start with jobs of low responsibility, and as they prove their competence, are given more and more responsible tasks, but within each subfield of civil engineering, and even within different segments of the market within each branch, the details of a career path can vary. In some fields and in some firms, entry-level engineers are put to work primarily monitoring construction in the field, serving as the "eyes and ears" of more senior design engineers; while in other areas, entry-level engineers end up performing the more routine tasks of analysis or design and interpretation. More senior engineers can move into doing more complex analysis or design work, or management of more complex design projects, or management of other engineers, or into specialized consulting, including Forensic Engineering . SUB-DISCIPLINES In general, civil engineering is concerned with the overall interface of human created fixed projects with the greater world. General civil engineers work closely with surveyors and specialized civil engineers to fit and serve fixed projects within their given site, community and terrain by designing grading, drainage, Pavement , water supply, sewer service, electric and communications supply, and land divisions. General engineers spend much of their time visiting project sites, developing community consensus, and preparing construction plans. General civil engineering is also referred to as site engineering; a branch of civil engineering that primarily focuses on converting a tract of land from one usage to another. Civil engineers typically apply the principles of geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, environmental engineering, transportation engineering and construction engineering to residential, commercial, industrial and public works projects of all sizes and levels of construction. Construction engineering See Also: Construction engineering Construction management Construction engineering involves planning and execution of the designs from transportation, site development, hydraulic, environmental, structural and geotechnical engineers. As construction firms tend to have higher business risk than other types of civil engineering firms, many construction engineers tend to take on a role that is more business-like in nature: drafting and reviewing Contract s, evaluating Logistical Operations , and closely-monitoring prices of necessary supplies. Environmental engineering ]] See Also: Environmental engineering Environmental engineering deals with the treatment of chemical, biological, and/or thermal waste, the purification of water and air, and the Remediation of contaminated sites, due to prior waste disposal or accidental contamination. Among the topics covered by environmental engineering are pollutant transport, Water Purification , Sewage Treatment , and Hazardous Waste Management . Environmental engineers can be involved with pollution reduction, green engineering, and Industrial Ecology . Environmental engineering also deals with the gathering of information on the environmental consequences of proposed actions and the assessment of effects of proposed actions for the purpose of assisting society and policy makers in the decision making process. Environmental engineering is the contemporary term for Sanitary Engineering , though sanitary engineering traditionally had not included much of the hazardous waste management and environmental remediation work covered by the term ''environmental engineering''. Some other terms in use are public health engineering and environmental health engineering. Geotechnical engineering ]] See Also: Geotechnical engineering Geotechnical engineering is primarily concerned with the interaction of structures with earth materials, and structures constructed from earth materials. Geotechnical engineers analyze site conditions and design foundations and Earthworks . Geotechnical engineers deal with soil properties, Soil Mechanics , compression and swelling of soils, seepage, slopes, embankments, Retaining Wall s, ground and rock anchors, use of synthetic tensile materials in soil structures, soil-structure interaction, and soil dynamics. Hydraulic engineering ]] See Also: Hydraulic engineering See Also: Hydrology Hydraulic engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water. This area of civil engineering is intimately related to the design of Pipelines , Water Distribution Systems , drainage facilities (including Bridge s, Dam s, Channel s, Culvert s, Levee s, Storm Sewer s), and Canal s. Hydraulic engineers design these facilities using the concepts of Fluid Pressure , Fluid Statics , Fluid Dynamics , and Hydraulics , among others. Water resources engineering is concerned with the collection and management of water (as a Natural Resource ). As a discipline it therefore combines Hydrology , Environmental Science , Meteorology , Geology , Conservation , and Resource Management . This area of civil engineering relates to the prediction and management of both the quality and the quantity of water in both underground ( Aquifers ) and above ground (lakes, rivers, and streams) resources. Water resource engineers analyze and model very small to very large areas of the earth to predict the amount and content of water as it flows into, through, or out of a facility. Although the actual design of the facility may be left to other engineers. Materials science See Also: Materials science Civil engineering also includes elements of Materials Science . Construction materials with broad applications in civil engineering include ceramics such as Portland cement concrete (PCC) and hot mix asphalt concrete, metals such as aluminum and steel, and polymers such as polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and carbon fibers. Current research in these areas focus around increased strength, durability, workability, and reduced cost. Structural engineering ]] See Also: Structural engineering Structural engineering is concerned with the Structural Design and Structural Analysis of Building s, bridges, and other Structure s. This involves calculating the stresses and forces that act upon or arise within a structure, and designing the structure to successfully resist those forces and stresses. Resistance to wind and seismic loadings, especially performance near Resonant Frequencies , which affect the overall stability of a structure, are major design concerns. Other factors such as durability and cost are also considered. In addition to design of new buildings, structural engineers may design a Seismic Retrofit for an existing structure to mitigate undesirable performance during Earthquakes . Surveying , 1918]] See Also: Surveying Surveying is the process by which a surveyor measures certain dimensions that generally occur on the surface of the Earth. Modern surveying equipment, such as EDM's, total stations, GPS surveying and laser scanning, allow for remarkably accurate measurement of angular deviation, horizontal, vertical and slope distances. This information is crucial to convert the data into a graphical representation of the Earth's surface, in the form of a map. This information is then used by civil engineers, Contractors and even realtors to design from, build on, and trade, respectively. Elements of a building or structure must be correctly sized and positioned in relation to each other and to site boundaries and adjacent structures. Civil engineers are trained in the methods of surveying and may seek professional land surveyor status. Transportation engineering See Also: Transport engineering Transportation engineering is concerned with moving people and goods efficiently, safely, and in a manner conducive to a vibrant community. This involves specifying, designing, constructing, and maintaining transportation infrastructure which includes Streets , Canals , Highways , Rail Systems , Airport s, Port s, and Mass Transit . It includes areas such as transportation design, Transportation Planning , Traffic Engineering , Urban Engineering , Queueing Theory , Pavement Engineering , Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), and infrastructure management. SEE ALSO ;Associations
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